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Tips for Getting Through the Holiday Stress

The holiday season can be a challenging time for persons with brain injury and caregivers, as it often brings increased stress and overstimulation. To navigate these difficulties, prioritize self-care and establish clear boundaries. Communicate openly with loved ones about your needs and limitations during gatherings. Create a quiet retreat space for moments of respite, and consider a simplified approach to holiday traditions. Remember, it’s okay to say no to events or activities that may overwhelm. Prioritizing mental and emotional well-being is crucial during this demanding season!

Here are 13 tips to help navigate this busy season, as excerpted from BrainLine.  Click here to see the full article.

1. Pace yourself
2. Say "No"
3. Get organized in advance
4. Prioritize
5. Ask for Help
6. Keep things simple
7. Eat properly and drink water
8. Determine how to get where you have to go before you leave
9. Determine how much time you need to get there
10. Determine what you need to take with you & what you are going to wear
11. Determine, in advance, your way out
12. Study the menu on the internet before you go, if you are going to a new restaurant for dinner
13. Try to get a table in a quiet, less busy part of the restaurant

Child & Adolescent Support Initiative

The Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania is proud to introduce a comprehensive child and adolescent support initiative, addressing the unique challenges faced by caregivers. The initiative includes:

• A Brain Safety Fair scheduled for March 16 in Pittsburgh, offering valuable insights into brain injury prevention and free helmet fittings.  
• A virtual, statewide caregiver support group will launch in January, providing a vital community for those caring for young persons with brain injuries.
• A Child & Adolescent Day at our annual conference in June, featuring a special day tailored for pediatric caregivers with expert speakers and relevant topics. The Association is exploring the prospect of concurrent adaptive programming for children and adolescents, promising an inclusive and informative experience for all attendees.

🚨🚨To sign up for up to date information about the support group and the child & adolescent programming at the conference, follow this link and complete a brief form.

Employment Opportunity:
NeuroResource Facilitator

BIAPA, in collaboration with the PA Department of Health, is working to connect individuals with brain injuries to care across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This project aims to connect individuals with treatment, resources, and benefits, as well as to build natural supports in the community. BIAPA is seeking to hire a part-time NeuroResource Facilitator in the Central Pennsylvania Counties to take on this important work.

For more information about this opportunity, see the posting on our website.

Click here for more information about the Pennsylvania NeuroResource Facilitation Program (NRFP)

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to Monica Vaccaro at vaccaro@biapa.org

Helmets for the Holidays

The Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania is committed to maximizing the quality of life for people with brain injuries and their families.  BIAPA also provides valuable initiatives focusing on Education and Brain Injury Prevention throughout the year.

Your gift to Helmets for the Holidays: Give the Gift of Prevention will support our important work, including:

• Brain Injury Prevention, such as Brain Safety Fairs with free bicycle helmet fittings
• Education programs about the brain and the impact of brain injury
• Brain Injury Resource Line, which offers information about resources that may be of help to people with brain injury or their family.  

If you’d like to make a gift in honor of a friend, family member or colleague, please note that information on our secure donation form, and we'll send our Helmets for the Holidays bicycling snowman card with a message about your gift to the person you've honored.

Business Gift Program
If you’re a business and would like to make a gift in honor of clients or colleagues, please email us at admin@biapa.org or call 833-242-7248. We’ll make it easy for you to manage your holiday gift-giving and to support BIAPA and .  Send us a list of your honorees, and we’ll send our Helmets for the Holidays bicycling snowman card with a message that you’ve recognized them with a gift to BIAPA.

Thank you for helping us provide children and families with the knowledge and the helmets that can prevent life-long disability or death.

Best wishes for a safe and healthy holiday season!

Holiday Candy Sales Benefit BIAPA

BIAPA is once again partnering with Pittsburgh's renowned Sarris Candies to offer friends of BIAPA the opportunity to enjoy Sarris' legendary candy for the holidays and to benefit BIAPA!

Order candy through the BIAPA website, and Sarris will ship directly to you or another address for free, with a $5 packaging fee, and donate 25% of all sales to BIAPA!

Contact your state representative to ask them to co-sponsor HB 1682

House Bill 1682 was introduced into the PA State House of Representatives by Representative Tim Briggs on September 19, 2023 and referred to the House Insurance Committee.

This bill will ensure that commercial health insurance plans provide for intensive Post-Acute NeuroRehabilitation at the time that people are discharged from a hospital.

We need your advocacy to move the process forward.  Please contact your  state representative to let them know how important this is to you and ask that they sign on as a co-sponsor.

To learn more, download a document that includes a summary and talking points to use with your state representative here.

Use this link to find your state representative:

Find My Legislator

You will see contact information for your state representative on that website.  You could contact them by phone or email.  You can send an email from the website by clicking on the mail icon.

Here is sample message which you might use or modify. 

As a constituent in your district, I am asking you to become a co-spon to HB1682 which will make sure people who have brain injury receive the right rehabilitation at the right time so they can get the best outcome possible and  lead meaningful and productive lives.

ReDiscover U 

ReDiscover U is offering some great online learning experiences in the upcoming month!  Classes are held on Monday nights at 6 PM ET via Zoom. Use this link to join any of the classes at 6 PM on Mondays.

November/December Meeting Topics

Support Group Corner

To sign up for email alerts for one of the virtual groups listed above, follow  this link to fill out a brief form.

A full list of all of Pennsylvania's Brain Injury Support Groups, along with contact information for each, is on the BIAPA website's Support Group Listing Page. We are in the process of updating this information, and while we have done so for most groups, there are still some that we're trying to reach. If you're aware of groups that are meeting either virtually or in-person and are not on our listing, or if you have any updated details about a group on the list, please contact Melanie Morrison morrison@biapa.org so that we can let others know about them.